Chatham News

May Be Town's Oldest House
CHATHAM – William Nickerson came to the Cape's elbow in the mid 1600s to found his own community. He built a homestead for himself and his family on the shores of Ryder's Cove, and later welcomed others who settled throughout the area that is now Chatham.
The first settlers' homes are lost; all that is left of Nickerson's house is an outline in the earth and some artifacts discove...

CHATHAM – Twenty years ago, 23 larvae of the federally threatened northeastern beach tiger beetle were taken from a beach on Martha's Vineyard, the last known population in New England, and released on South Monomoy Island. Subsequent transplanting of tiger beetle larvae from the Vineyard to Monomoy took place annually through 2004.
To say that the tiger beetles took to Monomoy would be an understatement. The ...

Cape Task Force: Expect Muted Summer Season
With COVID-19 numbers starting to improve, the state took the first steps toward reactivating Massachusetts’ mothballed economy this week.
On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced the start of a careful process of reopening shuttered businesses and restarting public activities, with the goal of reaching a “new normal” by the end of July. But for that schedule to ho...

CHATHAM — One of the town’s longtime “country doctors,” Thomas Halliday, III, M.D., died last Monday from complications of COVID-19. He was 86 years old, and was still seeing patients until shortly before he fell ill.
Dr. Halliday is described as a dedicated physician who cared about the people in his practice. Perhaps best known as a longtime partner at Chatham Medical Associates on Crowell Road, Dr. Halliday...

CHATHAM — Taking no joy in the vote, selectmen Monday canceled the 2020 Independence Day parade, fireworks, and weekly Chatham Band concerts. In a further effort to control the spread of COVID-19, the health board issued an emergency order requiring people to wear face masks while strolling downtown.
The decisions came on the heels of last week’s widely attended virtual forum where many citizens expressed the ...

CHATHAM -- A local resident has died of COVID-19, the first person in Chatham to succumb to the coronavirus, town officials reported late Wednesday. The individual was not identified.
In a two-paragraph announcement, Director of Health and Natural Resources said town officials offered condolences to the individual’s family and wold not release further information out of respect for their privacy.
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Amid mounting pressure to reopen the state’s dormant economy, officials are warning that with COVID-19, caution remains the watchword.
Gov. Charlie Baker this week announced a strategy for gradually reopening businesses, though the timing has yet to be decided. With the Memorial Day weekend just over a week away, business and civic leaders on the Lower Cape are all ears.
An economic reopening advisory board...

CHATHAM – Groundfish quotas and allocations began anew May 1, marking the technical start of the commercial fishing season. But with restaurants still closed and other markets limited, local fishermen have fewer outlets for their catch.
“The good thing is our fishing season really hasn't ramped up yet,” fisherman Doug Feeney said recently. “But we don't know what the next three months holds.”
Feeney is a me...

CHATHAM — Though it’s still too early to predict the exact financial impact of COVID-19 on the next town budget, officials are bracing for significant reductions and are finding new ways to trim spending and lighten the burden on taxpayers.
Even so, the town's property tax rate will increase for the first time in three years.
At last Thursday’s board meeting, selectmen reviewed the latest revision of the fi...

CHATHAM — Even a few months ago, a summer without band concerts, the July 4 parade and crowded beaches seemed unimaginable. But in a heavily attended virtual forum Monday, speaker after speaker supported just that kind of approach in the fight against COVID-19.
The board of selectmen and board of health will hold a joint meeting Monday, May 18 at 6 p.m. to discuss comments made at the forum and updates on the ...

CHATHAM – For the second time in two years, the historical commission has imposed a delay on a proposal to demolish a portion of an iconic home at the corner of Shore Road and Seaview Street.
Commission members weren't happy with new plans to renovate and add on to the 93-year-old bow roof Cape at 233 Seaview St., which they said would be much larger than the existing building and would alter the historic stre...

CHATHAM — Though touted as a cheaper and better senior center alternative to 1610 Main St., a site on Stepping Stones Road just doesn’t deliver the goods. That was the message from selectmen this week, who voted not to support the proposal whenever it comes up for a vote.
The senior center project working group presented its analysis of the Stepping Stones site Monday, completing a $75,000 feasibility study ...